Nick Cannon will keep 'The Masked Singer' hosting job after his apology for anti-Semitic remarks
Fox has confirmed that it is sticking with Nick Cannon as the host of its popular reality competition series "The Masked Singer" following his apology for making anti-Semitic comments.
During a June 30 episode of the actor's YouTube series, "Cannon's Class," featuring Public Enemy rapper Richard "Professor Griff" Griffin, the men discussed conspiracy theories including those about Jewish people. Cannon said that Black people are the "true Jews" and shared his belief that Black people are "Semitic people."
"You can't be anti-Semitic when we are the Semitic people," he said. "That's our birthright. So if that's truly our birthright, there's no hate involved."
He also stated that white people are "a little less" than Black people because they lack melanin in their skin, among other comments.
Cannon has since apologized for the comments.
“When we were made aware of Nick Cannon’s interview with Richard Griffin on YouTube, we immediately began a dialogue with Nick," Fox said in a statement obtained by "Good Morning America." "He is clear and remorseful that his words were wrong and lacked both understanding and context, and inadvertently promoted hate."
"This was important for us to observe. Nick has sincerely apologized, and quickly taken steps to educate himself and make amends," the statement continued. "On that basis and given a belief that this moment calls for dialogue, we will move forward with Nick and help him advance this important conversation, broadly. FOX condemns all forms of hate directed toward any community and we will combat bigotry of any kind."
In his apology, posted on Wednesday evening, Cannon said he now feels "ashamed" of his comments.
"On my podcast I used words & referenced literature I assumed to be factual to uplift my community instead turned out to be hateful propaganda and stereotypical rhetoric that pained another community," he wrote in a tweet. "For this I am deeply sorry but now together we can write a new chapter of healing."
He shared messages to his "Jewish sisters and brothers" about how apologetic he is, revealing he has spoken to Rabbis, community leaders and institutions to learn more about the issues with his comments.
"I want to assure my Jewish friends, new and old, that this is only the beginning of my education—I am committed to deeper connections, more profound learning and strengthening the bond between our two cultures today and every day going forward," he wrote in another tweet.
Cannon was fired by ViacomCBS earlier this week due to the anti-Semitic remarks he made.
In a statement to "Good Morning America," a ViacomCBS spokesperson said, "ViacomCBS condemns bigotry of any kind and we categorically denounce all forms of anti-Semitism."
"We have spoken with Nick Cannon about an episode of his podcast 'Cannon's Class' on YouTube, which promoted hateful speech and spread anti-Semitic conspiracy theories," the spokesperson continued. "While we support ongoing education and dialogue in the fight against bigotry, we are deeply troubled that Nick has failed to acknowledge or apologize for perpetuating anti-Semitism, and we are terminating our relationship with him."
The media company added that it is "committed to doing better in our response to incidents of anti-Semitism, racism, and bigotry" and said it will release more on its "efforts to combat hate of all kinds."
